In a series of short webinars, Mark McRae and Kim Matheson from our Cloud Accounting team explain what Making Tax Digital (MTD) is, who it applies to and what you need to do to prepare to submit your first digital VAT return post 1 April 2019 to HMRC.

Commercial, finance and tax briefing for dentists

Click on the links below to read the full articles. If you have any queries or would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this edition, please do get in touch with Jayne Clifford, Director by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling 0141-272-0000.

A round up of the accounting, finance, risk and tax matters facing charity trustees, finance directors and financial managers.

Click on the links below to read the full articles and briefing notes. We do hope you find the information and forewarnings contained within this edition useful.

Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution delivered his Scottish draft budget for 2019-20 in the Scottish Parliament on 12 December 2018. 

In this short webinar Mark McRae, Director Martin Aitken &Co, explains what Making Tax Digital is, who it applies to and what you need to do to prepare to submit your first digital VAT return post 1 April 2019 to HMRC.

In this short webinar (part 2), Kim Matheson, Cloud Services Manager, Martin Aitken & Co, provides an introduction to cloud accounting and runs through the MTD for VAT elements of two cloud accounting systems: Sage 50cloud and Xero. 

 In this short webinar (part 3), Mark McRae, Director Martin Aitken & Co, provides a short demonstration of the MTD for VAT elements of Clearbooks Micro. This software solution may be suitable for smaller/micro businesses using spreadsheets to record their financial transactions and who require a digital solution to submit their VAT returns post 1 April 2019. 

Our regular update on financial, investment and tax developments for investors, company directors and private clients.

The Chancellor has laid out details signalling the end to austerity in a statement delivered between key meetings in the Brexit negotiations. Expectation leading up to the Budget had been for tax rises, with various revenue raising options discussed ahead of the statement.

If you will be using the MTD system from 1 April 2019, you must use approved accounting software which will enable you to send regular updates to HMRC.

In this short video, Iain Johnston, VAT Specialist at Martin Aitken & Co, provides an introduction to the different VAT rates: standard (20%), reduced rate (5%) and zero-rated (0%) and where they apply.

VAT for charities is a bit of a minefield and there seems to be a lot of confusion in this area. People may think that if something is a charitable activity, then it will have nothing to do with VAT. But this actually isn’t the case.

Many of the queries we deal with relate to whether VAT is due on the sale, purchase or rental of a property and the answer to this question is usually dependent on whether there is an “Option to Tax” on the property.

One of the biggest changes to the VAT legislation in recent years is expected to come into force in October 2019 and will affect companies, contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry.

Director Jayne Clifford and the Martin Aitken & Co Dental accounting, tax and finance team are getting ready for the 2018 FGDP (UK) Scotland Study Day at Glasgow Science Centre on Friday 7 December 2018.

Manufacturing 4.0 Seminar    6 December 9am-12pm          AFRC, Inchinnan

To ensure you don’t miss out on valuable allowances and exemptions that you are entitled to, you should plan and take advice now rather than leaving it until the end of the tax year, or the end of your financial year. Tricia Halliday, Tax Director, provides some tips and suggestions for you to consider. (1) The impact of bringing expenditure into this financial year, or deferring to the next, can have a significant impact on your tax position and financial results. (2) Maximise and use of all allowances, credits and exemptions you are entitled to, for instance, capital allowances can represent a valuable tax deduction for your business. They can be claimed on a wide variety of capital assets including plant, machinery, equipment, fixtures & fittings and vehicles. Timing of expenditure should be considered carefully. (3) If you are thinking about selling a business asset and a gain is likely to accrue – before you do, make sure you tax advantage the sale. For instance, tax due on an asset sale can be delayed by reinvesting the proceeds in another qualifying asset. (4) Research & Development is another very valuable tax relief available to businesses involved in qualifying projects.  Business involved in developing new products, processes or services or enhancing existing products may qualify for additional relief. Check out the position as you might be surprised what can qualify and how much it could be worth to you. (5) Any dividends you currently take in excess of the £2,000 dividend allowance will attract an income tax liability. Any dividends above that threshold but still in the basic rate tax band will be charged at 7.5%. Those in the higher rate band will be charged at 32.5%, and those in the additional rate band at 38.1%. If you haven’t already considered changing the way in which you balance your income and dividend payments, please get in touch to discuss your options. (6) Contributing to a pension is an opportunity to benefit from tax relief. Company pension contributions can also be useful. (7) Although not specifically a tax planning issue, there are a range of private and public sector grants available to businesses at all stages: pre-start, start-up, early stage and those looking to scale up to achieve their full potential. If you are creating jobs, safeguarding jobs, developing new products, services or processes or undertaking R&D in 2018-19 then it is worth a conversation with us to find out if your project will qualify for any grants or incentives. (8) Making improvements to how you manage the business finances and record keeping can also improve profitability and cash flow.  So make a resolution for 2019 especially if you will be using the Making Tax Digital system from 1 April 2019 to investigate a cloud accounting package >MTD for VAT more 

Business, tax and finance matters for company directors and business owner-managers

In this edition: Stranville John joins the Martin Aitken Group. MTD for VAT registered businesses. Business grants and support available for growing SMEs. More changes for private landlords are on the way, as well as potential reforms to Pensions Tax Relief and Inheritance Tax. 

 Click on the links below to read the articles in the latest edition.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has announced the Top 100 Young Chartered Accountants (CAs) for 2018 and we are delighted to report that Duncan MacCaig, Manager, in our Audit & Accounts team has been included in this year's best of the best listing.